What Kind of Headache Do You Have?

Ginny Graves

May 18, 2012

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Headache types

Is it just a tension headache? Your sinuses? A migraine? Here's our handy guide on how to tell.

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Tension headache

The scoop: This is by far the most common type of headache, affecting as many 90 percent of people at some point in their life. It’s caused by tightness in the muscles of the scalp and the back of the neck.

Symptoms: Dull pressure or tightness in a band around the head, especially the forehead. Usually no other symptoms.

Pain: Mild to moderate

Triggers: Stress or fatigue

Treatment: OTC pain relievers like ibuprofen and naproxen. Taking some time to de-stressdeep breathing, gentle yoga, napping, or meditationmight also help.

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Migraine

The scoop: Often mistaken for a tension or sinus headache, a migraine is a neurological condition caused by an overreactive "switch" in the brain stem.

Symptoms: Throbbing pain; sensitivity to light, sounds, and smells; nausea and vomiting; and other symptoms. Twenty percent of sufferers have aurasymptoms such as visual disturbances that precede the onset of pain.

Pain: Moderate to severe

Triggers: Stress, hormonal changes, weather changes, some foods

Treatment: Stress relief, lifestyle changes, OTC and Rx medications

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Sinus headache

The scoop: It's extremely uncommon; most people who think they have one actually have a migraine. "Almost half of people with migraines have runny or stuffy nose or teary eyes with their headaches," Dr. Tepper explains.

Symptoms: Pain around the nose and eyes; runny nose, often accompanied by fever.

Pain: Mild to severe

Triggers: An acute sinus infection

Treatment: OTC pain relievers and sinus meds

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Cluster headache

The scoop: Rare, it affects 0.1 percent of the people, more commonly men. Because it tends to occur at the same time every day, doctors suspect the hypothalamusthe part of the brain that controls the body clockis involved.

Symptoms: Intense, penetrating pain behind one eye that usually starts shortly after you fall asleep. They last an hour or two but come in clusters of one or two headaches a day over several weeks.

Pain: Excruciating

Triggers: Alcohol. Also more common in smokers.

Treatment: Prevention can include Rx drugs, nerve blocks injected into the back of your head, and melatonin. Triptans and other medications are used to treat an attack once it's started.